Neither Would Live If the Other Had Died
by 26-Letters-1Billion-Universes
Summary: Ginny Weasley walks around Post-Battle Hogwarts, thoughts running through her head.


It's over.

The only thought in Ginny's head was echoing over and over again. Every time her heart beat it was if it was saying the words over and over again. She glanced around the great hall, fixed up, the loved ones moved to the blocked off half of the infirmary where the injured also lay, to find not many up yet. It was only five when she came down from Gryffindor tour, and she didn't expect many to be up and about. The battle had last all throughout the night between May first and second but the passing to May third was a strangely peaceful night. Her mother would probably be freaking out but she had been so….drained as they all had been. But Ginny Weasley had learned that the only way to survive hardships was to keep moving, and never forget. She watched as a few stragglers came into the hall and decided that she needed to get out before her parent arrived. As much as she needed to be close to them and her brothers, she needed to come to terms with what happened her own way. In her own time.

Leaving the Great Hall, she let her mind drift to him. To her Harry. She had felt his gaze on her yesterday, but came to the decision that her mother needed her more at the moment. The thought that her only daughter had been mere centimeters away from death, had made her mother rid the world of a vile and crazed woman. But Harry had been there as well. She hadn't known as the time but something made her dodge the curse, Ginny Weasley hadn't cared for her life in that close moment. She had just wanted to kill the bastard who had ruined it when she had only been eleven.

When she came back to her surroundings, she could almost hear Moody yelling 'constant vigilance' at her; she noticed she was by a very familiar tree. She also noticed a very familiar boy.

Neither said anything. Possibly waiting for the other to start, or not wanting to start what would be a long conversation.

In the end, it was him who couldn't deal with their silence.

"Gin." It was the way he said it that made the decision clear for her.

"I should probably hate you, you know?" She watched as he tensed up, clearly unsure where she was heading. "I should hate you for leaving me behind. I should hate you for not giving any sign to us that you were alive. I should also hate you for making everyone believe you were dead." She closed her eyes tightly, calming herself down. "But I don't. And I never will hate you, Harry. And my family doesn't hate you. Teddy won't hate you. The families of the loved ones here today will not hate you." She paused, letting her words sink in.

"Everyone here was here for the same reason." She continued. "We knew coming into this that we could and most likely would be killed. My family was, is, too big and too passionate to stay on the sidelines and not be hit. We would have been targeted anyway. In fact, we were. I forgave you for leaving me behind. And I know why you did it. And I can see how you're letting this affect you. But you shouldn't blame this on yourself. Tonks and Lupin. Collin. F-Fred. They were here because they believed in the cause. The D.A. was here because we believed in the cause. And honestly Harry, I need you to know that I will never hate you. Because I love you. I love you with everything in my heart, my soul. We both have changed so much this year. But I still love you. And I will always love you, even if you don't believe you deserve it." She paused again, watching as he slowly faced her, green eyes meeting brown. "You are a brilliant man, Harry Potter. Not because of what you did here but because why you're here." She fell silent on that note, feeling as if she had said her piece. She watched as he contemplated her words, his breathing a slow steady pace.

"I-i.." And with that, the man she loved fell to his knees, crying his heart out for what was probably years. She moved to him, kneeling beside him, she pulled him into her arms and rested her head against his shoulders crying into his shoulder. There, under their tree, the two cried until they couldn't shed any more tears. After that they sat and talked. Harry told her of his year on the run and she told him of her year fighting back. They sat there for hours and didn't return to the castle until almost dinner. They also didn't separate, knowing the only thing in this moment trying them to the world was each other. They would have days, months, and years, to sort everything out. But they both knew that neither would live if the other had died.


End file.
